Industry News

The Department of Energy opened the $143 million Wang Hall at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in November of 2015. The 149,000-sf facility will house the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) and the Computational Research Division as well as providing a center of operations for the Energy Sciences Network (ESnet).

Apple is planning to build a four-story, 269,000-sf research and development facility in Yokohama, Japan. Constructed on the site of a former Panasonic factory in Tsunashima-higashi, the sustainably designed project will feature highly efficient building systems, water recycling technologies, and a green roof. Construction is expected to commence by the end of 2015 with completion in 2016.

The University of Texas broke ground in February of 2015 on a $20 million expansion of the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) in Austin. Designed by O’Connell Robertson, the 38,000-sf building will include instructional spaces, an auditorium, and student computer labs. The three-story facility is sited adjacent to TACC's existing building on the J.J. Pickle Research Campus and is expected to open in January of 2016.

BluVue announced the release of BluVue Plans 2.0 for iOS and Android in February of 2015. The app allows project teams to have mobile access to current construction plan documents, eliminating the risk of building off of outdated drawings. BluVue Plans also helps construction teams collaborate efficiently on project drawings, giving them the power to view, mark up, and share plans.

Apple is planning to invest $2 billion to develop a global data center headquarters in Mesa, Ariz. The project involves building out an existing 1.3 million-sf manufacturing facility and the completed structure will be powered entirely by sustainable energy sources.